How (and why) to Ramble on your goat sideways
06-23-2016, 09:15 PM
Are you set where you are for the time being? They aren't going to kick you out or anything? Then you've got a golden opportunity. Use those 6-8 weeks wisely.
If they (meaning your direct boss) knows you are leaving, but still sees you putting in effort and being diligent, that goes a long way towards looking good in his/her eyes. That's a contact you can keep for many years when you need that glowing recommendation for another job someplace. One lesson I learned the hard way as a contract worker was not only to not burn bridges, but to maintain the ones you had in the past. It just might be the "networking" you need down the road.
If they (meaning your direct boss) knows you are leaving, but still sees you putting in effort and being diligent, that goes a long way towards looking good in his/her eyes. That's a contact you can keep for many years when you need that glowing recommendation for another job someplace. One lesson I learned the hard way as a contract worker was not only to not burn bridges, but to maintain the ones you had in the past. It just might be the "networking" you need down the road.
My boss and I talked about this yesterday after one interview. The guy was qualified, and was personable enough...but he couldn't shut up about how much he wanted to leave his current job and how much he dislikes his current boss. Maybe he really has a sucky job and a terrible boss, but maybe he's just a malcontent. I'm not sure we will be willing to take the chance. If he'd just kept his mouth shut, he'd probably be in the final 2 or 3 candidates.
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06-23-2016, 09:34 PM
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That's a huge no-no in interviews. You NEVER badmouth anyone, not even the interviewer's worst enemy.
I have had literally dozens of interviews. I've heard all the "trick" questions, and can tailor my answers depending on how the interview is going.
BTW, unless I was desperate, I would never work for anyone that asked, "what is your greatest weakness?" and the like. I had one guy ask me, "why do you want to work here?".
I answered "money.". The guy laughed and I was hired on the spot. Three years later they laid off the entire department, including my boss, but I was kept on. 6 months later, I left.
I have had literally dozens of interviews. I've heard all the "trick" questions, and can tailor my answers depending on how the interview is going.
BTW, unless I was desperate, I would never work for anyone that asked, "what is your greatest weakness?" and the like. I had one guy ask me, "why do you want to work here?".
I answered "money.". The guy laughed and I was hired on the spot. Three years later they laid off the entire department, including my boss, but I was kept on. 6 months later, I left.
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06-23-2016, 10:19 PM
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^HA! I told the old boss at my last job the same thing.
"What motivates you to be a Technical Writer?"
"I'm good at it and it provides me the money necessary to enjoy my hobbies when I'm not at work."
"What motivates you to be a Technical Writer?"
"I'm good at it and it provides me the money necessary to enjoy my hobbies when I'm not at work."
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06-23-2016, 10:54 PM
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To be honest, I cannot think of many projects that I am solely responsible for because I work as part of a pretty small but very close knit team. We have a lot of widely varied projects that play on our different strengths and weaknesses. Though I understand that "Helped plan and deploy X" "Worked as part of a team to X" "Received training and regularly supported X" does not look as good as "Managed deployment of X" and etc. If you are going to put that stuff on a resume you better be prepared to back it up.
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06-24-2016, 06:49 AM
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Just make sure when you get to the negotiating salary part that you tell them as part of the job you need a garage that allows you to work in it. A NA/NB of your choosing, along with a MSPNPPro and MKTurbo setup.
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06-24-2016, 08:24 AM
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Honestly, I'm not sure if I'd want to live downtown, given that WGN is well outside the loop, just a few miles east of ORD. A reverse-commute by car wouldn't be horrible, but it wouldn't be my first preference.
Chicago peeps: what does the trail / sidewalk situation look like in terms of jogging / biking from either the loop or river north (Marina Towers area) out to North Center / Avondale?
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06-24-2016, 09:47 AM
To be honest, I cannot think of many projects that I am solely responsible for because I work as part of a pretty small but very close knit team. We have a lot of widely varied projects that play on our different strengths and weaknesses. Though I understand that "Helped plan and deploy X" "Worked as part of a team to X" "Received training and regularly supported X" does not look as good as "Managed deployment of X" and etc. If you are going to put that stuff on a resume you better be prepared to back it up.
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06-24-2016, 09:58 AM
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06-24-2016, 10:17 AM
I think it really comes down to what kind of company you're interviewing for, and the interviewer(s) too.
Even within our company, I've talked with various directors/vp's and their preferences are all over the place: one was telling me how they really want someone to "sell" themselves, to have confidence, to really come across as someone that knows how good they are, and their own potential. Another director was telling me how it absolutely annoys him when people think they know everything, how humility goes a long way, and how no one really is a subject matter expert in any given field - it's more important to have the desire to learn/grow/improve than think you've mastered something.
I dunno. I try to be somewhere in between, but tend to agree with you guys: I'd rather be underwhelmed by a resume then get seriously impressed during an interview
Even within our company, I've talked with various directors/vp's and their preferences are all over the place: one was telling me how they really want someone to "sell" themselves, to have confidence, to really come across as someone that knows how good they are, and their own potential. Another director was telling me how it absolutely annoys him when people think they know everything, how humility goes a long way, and how no one really is a subject matter expert in any given field - it's more important to have the desire to learn/grow/improve than think you've mastered something.
I dunno. I try to be somewhere in between, but tend to agree with you guys: I'd rather be underwhelmed by a resume then get seriously impressed during an interview
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06-24-2016, 10:36 AM
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I've now interviewed about 40+ people over the past few years and been in several interviews my self. Corporate culture of the company comes down to how you play the interview. When I was in the DoD contracting world being completely proper in the interview is what you had to do. All the companies in that world want you dressed perfectly and not to say anything bad at all. At my private sector job it is the complete opposite. We drop "*****" in the interview just to see how the candidates react, because if it is negatively we cross them out. If someone talks bad about previous employers we try to get more details on try to get down to why they were unhappy. Sometimes they have valid reason, sometimes they don't.
Saying all that I am in the IT industry which I believe is a bit of an outlier for most of sectors.
Saying all that I am in the IT industry which I believe is a bit of an outlier for most of sectors.
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06-24-2016, 04:57 PM
British Voters Rush to Google "What Is the EU?" after Leaving the EU
British Voters Rush to Google "What Is the EU?" After Brexit Polls Close | Big Think
British Voters Rush to Google "What Is the EU?" After Brexit Polls Close | Big Think
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06-24-2016, 05:26 PM
Well, in the Chicago market, presuming I lived in the burbs, I could easily buy a house with cash and the garage thing would be taken care of.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'd want to live downtown, given that WGN is well outside the loop, just a few miles east of ORD. A reverse-commute by car wouldn't be horrible, but it wouldn't be my first preference.
Chicago peeps: what does the trail / sidewalk situation look like in terms of jogging / biking from either the loop or river north (Marina Towers area) out to North Center / Avondale?
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'd want to live downtown, given that WGN is well outside the loop, just a few miles east of ORD. A reverse-commute by car wouldn't be horrible, but it wouldn't be my first preference.
Chicago peeps: what does the trail / sidewalk situation look like in terms of jogging / biking from either the loop or river north (Marina Towers area) out to North Center / Avondale?
I would talk up Chicago as a place to live but you have already lived in New York. Chicago is great, but nothing you haven't seen before. However, it is my understanding that it is cleaner and we are far more friendly.
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06-24-2016, 07:47 PM
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I mean, what were you reasonably expecting as an answer?
I would expect something super generic like "a subnet mask helps the TCP protocol determine if a host is on the local or a remote subnet" but no way would I expect anyone to sit down and start breaking out the binary.
I would expect something super generic like "a subnet mask helps the TCP protocol determine if a host is on the local or a remote subnet" but no way would I expect anyone to sit down and start breaking out the binary.
It's not like they're being asked to describe BGP ...
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06-24-2016, 07:55 PM
Boost Pope
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Not sure how badly it'd suck in winter, though. We don't get extremely harsh winters in NYC as compared to the lakes area. The station is not far from the Addison stop on the Brown line.
I'd be open to the concept of living in the 'burbs, provided it doesn't suck. Not my first preference from a lifestyle perspective, but it might be the more practical option in this case.
I've worked at Prudential Tower and 2 Illinois Center in the past, doing short-term contract stuff. So I know the Loop pretty well, and River North a little, but everything else might as well be Pyongyang for all I know.
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06-24-2016, 08:02 PM
Boost Pope
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I know what patterns of twos and fives and zeroes need to be typed into the subnet mask field in order to achieve various partitionings of a class c, and I understand the fundamental concept behind the technique, but for some reason it still has a sort of voodoo-ish element about it.
This is also a sub net:
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